All Souls Weekly                 
Volume 3, Number 34, July 18, 2010

CHOOSING A NEW BISHOP

The Early Church had various methods for choosing a bishop. For Ambrose, a fourth century bishop, the job came as a surprise. Ambrose was acting as a mediator between two rival factions trying to put forth a candidate for bishop of Milan. When Ambrose began to try to keep order among both factions, people reportedly began to say, "Ambrose shall be our bishop!" He was baptized very quickly and ordained bishop the same year.